Ralph Mann & Sons, Inc.

Contacted Ralph Mann about hooking up to a gas meter to finish my whole house gas conversion Said they would do the job by time and materials They had plenty of time, two weeks to come out an figure out the materials they need and pull a permit They show up the day of the meter hookup not having the tools, materials or the permit to do the job The plumber figures out what he needs and heads to another job site to use their tools and materials So we are billed this traveling time, comes backs and needs more parts an heads back to their shop, more traveling time $hr that we are billed Couldn't have the job inspected because permit wasn't pulled so now we are put off for another week for the meter They come back to make the connection and convert two appliances now with two guys One tech converts the appliances that takes 1/hour then runs to a store to get a 1/elbow that they should of had so now we are billed another hour for travel, hr for this guy Get their invoice and they have a mystery hour that nobody in their not so helpful office can account for They ended up billing us for two hours of traveling and one mystery hour $total Not worth trusting this company to work for you figuring out their hours

*** *** and I have been corresponding via email to resolve the outstanding issuesHe did have the heat pump repaired by another dealer and according to them the system was out of refrigerant and it cost him $to have the leak repaired and the system recharged, he also asked me if I was going to reimburse himI told him that he needed to find out what caused the leak because if it was from a defective part he may have some warranty coverageI also asked him for a date to get together and resolve the disputed plumbing invoices, that was on June 11th and I have not received a reply since
*** ***

It took *** *** over weeks to respond to my request to get in touch with me to discuss the caseWhen he finally reached out to me via email I was out of the country travelling for work*** primarily wants to discuss plumbing bill which he alleges was not paid in full, I agreed to meet with him and offered to meet over the weekend since I was getting back to the county on Friday, however he refused***, as I mentioned to you earlier I am available to meet during weekends or evenings to discuss the matterYou can call me at *** *** *** or my email is *** However the complaint submitted to Revdex.com is unrelated to the plumbing billSince *** refused to send his technician to fix my A/C system I was forced to hire third party to address the problemThird party technician determined that the system was low on refrigerant and as a result was not functioning correctlyThe system had to be refilled and I incurred a charge of $to refill the systemLast technician *** sent to my house claimed that the system was overcharged and refrigerant had to be released, which he didSince no one else has worked on the system which is less than years old, I find it ironic that now the system is not functioning because of low refrigerant levelsI have asked *** to reimburse me for having the system recharged since the system had low refrigerant was a result of *** ***'s technician's inability to properly service the unit in the first place
Attached please find copy of the bill
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely,
*** ***

In August of *** *** and Sons installed a heat pump system, zone controls and ductwork for *** ***The contract amount was 13,and it came with a one year warranty as clearly stated in his contractThe heat pump unit was installed to supply not only cooling but primary heat to his residence with the oil fired furnace acting as the back upWhen we got into the first heating season there were a couple of instances where the furnace was not coming on when needed and we responded to the calls quickly and professionallyAdditionally *** *** hired us to do plumbing work for two bathroom remodeling projects he was doing in his house as well, I gave him a price to complete the work for the first bathroom and everything went as plannedWhen it came to the second bath he said it was a similar project to the first and should cost about the sameWhen we went to do the project we opened the floor and found a carrying beam obstructing the path for the drain piping and *** *** was aware of the situation and that this was more than what we had talked aboutNone the less the project was completed and we sent an invoice for our services , upon receiving the bill *** *** called and was questioning why we were billing him for the extra work and I explained to him that we encountered things that were unforeseen and not part of what we had originally discussedHe asked why we didn't give him an estimate for the additional work and I replied "you were there and saw what had to be done" , he replied "I'm only paying what you quotedI said "so because I didn't give you a cost for the additional work that you were aware of, you're not going to pay for it, he said yesAt that point he wouldn't even discuss it with me so I said "go ahead and pay what you claim I quoted but in the future find someone else to do your work, he said OKA short while later he had a heating problem and called for service to which we reminded him we would no longer be able to provide him with our servicesOur one year warranty covering the heat pump installation was up August of
Sincerely
,
*** ***

In August of *** *** and Sons installed a heat pump system, zone controls and ductwork for *** ***The contract amount was 13,and it came with a one year warranty as clearly stated in his contractThe heat pump unit was installed to supply not only cooling but primary heat to his
residence with the oil fired furnace acting as the back upWhen we got into the first heating season there were a couple of instances where the furnace was not coming on when needed and we responded to the calls quickly and professionallyAdditionally *** *** hired us to do plumbing work for two bathroom remodeling projects he was doing in his house as well, I gave him a price to complete the work for the first bathroom and everything went as plannedWhen it came to the second bath he said it was a similar project to the first and should cost about the sameWhen we went to do the project we opened the floor and found a carrying beam obstructing the path for the drain piping and *** *** was aware of the situation and that this was more than what we had talked aboutNone the less the project was completed and we sent an invoice for our services , upon receiving the bill *** *** called and was questioning why we were billing him for the extra work and I explained to him that we encountered things that were unforeseen and not part of what we had originally discussedHe asked why we didn't give him an estimate for the additional work and I replied "you were there and saw what had to be done" , he replied "I'm only paying what you quotedI said "so because I didn't give you a cost for the additional work that you were aware of, you're not going to pay for it, he said yesAt that point he wouldn't even discuss it with me so I said "go ahead and pay what you claim I quoted but in the future find someone else to do your work, he said OKA short while later he had a heating problem and called for service to which we reminded him we would no longer be able to provide him with our servicesOur one year warranty covering the heat pump installation was up August of
Sincerely
,
*** ***

As I mentioned earlier, air conditioning units are factory charged with refrigerant and many times have to be field adjusted after being installed and that is what was doneThe invoice from *** states that they repaired a leak on the service valve and recharged the systemOnce again I will reiterate that the system had a one year warranty and this service was performed at the end of the second yearA one year warranty is months from the date of start up, the system was installed in

*** *** is forgetting that his refusal to discuss the plumbing bill is the reason we are not providing any further service to himHe did offer to get together over the weekend but I explained to him that I was going to be on a camping trip with the cub scouts, I didn't just refuse as he states*** *** did hire another company to repair the heat pump system and as I said in my previous reply, I asked him to find out where the leak was as there may be some warranty coverage on partsI would like to see the invoice from the service company that fixed the problem so that I might be able to shed some light on what actually happened

I have tried contacting [redacted] several times to discuss the situation. The secretary refuses to me through to him although he was at the office.
[redacted] can contact me at [redacted], my email is [redacted]
 
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
I was open to discussing billing issue with [redacted] and as a matter of fact as stated in my earlier statement I made several attempts to get explanation on additional charges from [redacted]'s secretary. When I got the initial bill I contacted the office and was told that the issue would be researched and I would hear back the following day. I provided my cell phone number but no-one ever called me back. I then received another bill a month later, I called the office again and was directed to speak to [redacted], I tried explaining that I was not made aware of additional charges at the time when service was performed and that I hired and paid the carpenter separately for additional work that needed to be performed before the plumber could proceed. after carpenter finished installing new floor joist the plumber was able to complete work as initially planned. I tried explaining all this to [redacted], but he was too angry and frustrated to help and simply refused to listen.
 
As far as heat pump it was never properly installed and still does not work. As per the documents I received from [redacted] attached to previous message the unit that I bought has 2 year labor warranty through installing dealer. [redacted] provided me with wrong warranty information, the paperwork I got from him states 1 yr labor warranty and 10 yr parts warranty. Paperwork from [redacted] states 2yr labor warranty and 5yr parts warranty.
 
I am still open to discussing any outstanding bills and if [redacted] can show that he in fact incurred expenses outside of the quote he gave me I am willing to reimburse for these additional expenses, however I will only do it after he fixes HVAC unit that continues to malfunction.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

[redacted] is forgetting that I never refused to discuss plumbing bill. Let me remind you again what happened, I asked you perform plumbing work for bathroom remodel, you quoted me $2,000 USD, you completed the work in August 2013 I paid you $2,000 as agreed, I then received a bill in December 2013 for another $2,000 when I called the office they told me it was a mistake they will straighten it out and not to worry about it. Then I get another bill in January 2014, I called [redacted] and Sons again and ask to speak to [redacted] and asked to explain why I am being billed another $2,000 and [redacted] said that there was more work than you expected as I result I am being billed more. When I asked for [redacted] to explain how come I was not made aware that the cost of job was more than double of the initial quote before additional worked was performed and how come I am receiving the bill several months after the work was completed [redacted] told me that he couldn't possibly follow every single one of his employees and offered no other explanations and just demanded a payment. After I told him that I would only pay if he can provide reasonable explanation as to why the job ended up costing more than double of his original estimate he told me to forget and not to call him.
Now back to the AC problem which was a separate transaction and was paid in full and you have agreed that there are no other outstanding charges for this job that have not been paid. The unit has not been performing correctly from day 1 after your technicians installed it, you have acknowledged that your technicians had to come back multiple times trying to repair the unit. I had to call you again when the heat was not working and also later determined that AC was not working either. When you refused to send a technician, I reached out to a third party to service the unit. The technician determined that the unit was low on refrigerant and had to be refilled. I was billed $599 to refill the unit and the unit if functioning properly now. I have asked you to reimburse me the $599 fee since your last technician who was trying to unsuccessfully fix the unit actually told us that the unit had too much refrigerant and released the refrigerant which resulted in unit's latest failure.
The copy of the bill to have the unit serviced by a third party was attached to my previous message, I am attaching it again.
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely,
[redacted]

This whole situation has escalated to this point because [redacted] refused to discuss the charges related to the plumbing services we performed for him contrary to his previous statement. If he is now willing to do so and we can resolve that matter, we can move on to taking care of the heat pump situation. Regarding the heat pump, in addition to the Revdex.com [redacted] has contacted [redacted]'s distribution center), [redacted] who is financing the system and the Attorney General's office and although I have had to provide a written reply to each, no one has supported his claim of a two year warranty. If [redacted] is ready to discus the plumbing charges I can be reached by phone ###-###-#### or by email at [redacted].
Thank you, 
[redacted]

When I called [redacted] and spoke to Consumer Relations Manager [redacted] she informed me that since my product was purchased through a licensed dealer I have 2 year warranty on part and labor and 5 year warranty on Parts. Customer service manager at [redacted] was able to pull all of the warranty information using serial number provided by [redacted] receptionist in [redacted]'s office. Serial number is [redacted]. Furthermore [redacted] called the dealer and informed them of obligation to service the unit, and [redacted] again refused to help. [redacted] then told me that since [redacted] is an independently owned and operated dealer she had no way of forcing them to go out and service my unit, she then referred me to another dealer in the area, however she warned me that [redacted] would cover the cost only if the unit is defective, problems with installation would normally have to be covered by installing dealer who as we know refusing to service the unit. This is why I am requesting that [redacted] would reimburse me for any labor charges that I will potentially incur if it's determined that the installation was not performed properly. 
On the topic of Bathroom remodel it is true that when the work started on Bathroom number 2, the plumber determined that the tub could not be installed because supporting floor joist needed to be replaced and he referred me to a carpenter. I have hired the carpenter to replace the joist and made a separate payment for the installation of the floor joist to the carpenter directly (copy of the check attached). [redacted] then proceeded with the installation of the shower stall as originally planned, from that point on I was not informed of any additional work needed that would increase the cost of initial estimate. Furthermore I received initial bill for Bathroom installation in September and it was lower than $2,000 originally quoted, I called [redacted] and asked her to confirm that this was the final bill for the bathroom work and she confirmed that it was and there were no other charges outstanding. At that point I paid the bill in Full using my [redacted]. In December I got another bill for work performed in August, again I called [redacted] and she said she will look into and call me back tomorrow, she never did ([redacted] hardly ever returns calls). I then got another bill for a different amount in January 2014 for work performed in August 2013. At this point I called and asked to speak to [redacted], he then told me that there were additional charges for Bathroom installation which made the total balance twice as much than what the original estimate was. I then asked [redacted] how come he didn't inform me of additional charges over the original estimate before the work was performed to which he replied that he cant physically follow every single one of his employees. I feel that [redacted] does not bill customers timely and correctly and significant variations from the estimate have to be communicated to the customer. The customer cannot held accountable for company's inability to properly conduct business.
[redacted] and his company helped me complete 2 big projects in my house for which I paid a little over $20K in the past 2 years, I always paid my bills in full based on estimate provided by [redacted], I don't think [redacted] would purposely try to over-bill or falsify facts, I do however think that there are incompetent people at [redacted] who are taking advantage of the situation and the fact that [redacted] as he said cannot be following up on every single one of his employees. The last plumber who worked at my house was a perfect example of that, the first thing he did when he came to my house is he cut out all copper piping and replaced with plastic without my permission or approval, the plumber took copper pipes with him and never gave them to me again I never authorized that. The plumber spend most of this time drinking coffee and chatting and very little work. 
It would be sad to see company like [redacted] who I am sure [redacted] and his family worked hard to build to be forced out of business by incompetent employees and [redacted]'s inability to see that the customer who called him for all his plumbing and HVAC work and always paid on time might be right.
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely,
[redacted]

As I mentioned in my reply, [redacted] was given a one year warranty and it is clearly stated in his contract. We were contacted by [redacted] as they are concerned for all customers as we are and when the situation was explained to them they agreed we were well within our rights to not provide service. My real problem with this situation is that [redacted] wouldn't even discuss the extra charges with me so my position is if that is going to be his attitude I don't want to deal with him any more. At this point any problems with the heat pump system other than parts would not be covered by a warranty and after my last experience with [redacted] I am not risking payment issues. The heat pump system itself works fine, the couple of problems previously experienced were in control settings where the existing furnace and new heat pump need to work together and they weren't properly communicating but we were able to take care of the issues at no cost. Any [redacted] dealer will be able to address his current situation and honor the parts warranty. We have been treating all of our customers with fairness, respect and honesty for over 98 years and I expect the same in return from my customers. Our employees are very well trained and among the best in the industry and I trust them to provide services that go beyond customers expectations and that has proven to be one of our strongest assets.

Review: In August of 2012 [redacted] and Sons installed new A/C unit and heat pump in my house. The unit was installed by [redacted] and I was given a 5 year warranty on the parts and 2 year labor warranty. The installation and the cost of the AC unit itself was financed through [redacted] and the dealer was paid in full for installation of HVAC unit through the bank. Almost immediately after dealer completed installation I had multiple problems with the heat pump. Dealer made multiple attempts to fix it. Last year I contacted the dealer to help with bathroom remodel and install new bathroom fixtures, this was completely new project for which I paid separately $2,000 as originally quoted by [redacted]. At a later time I received another bill for $1,800, when I contacted [redacted] I was told that the bathroom remodel ended up being significantly more involved and therefore I owed additional $1,800, I spoke to [redacted] he was angry on the phone and told me that I didn't have to pay it and not to call him any more for any other work. We recently started to have problems again with the heat pump I contacted [redacted] and asked them to send someone to help fix the problem as it is still covered under 2 yr warranty. [redacted] the secretary at the office informed that as per [redacted] will no longer service my unit. I explained to [redacted] that the billing dispute over plumbing work is completely unrelated to AC and heat pump installation, she refused to listen told me to find someone else.Desired Settlement: Since the dealer is refusing to honor its commitment to service the unit under 2 year warranty I would like the dealer compensate me for any charges I might incur to repair through a third party.

Business

Response:

In August of 2012 [redacted] and Sons installed a heat pump system, zone controls and ductwork for [redacted]. The contract amount was 13,500.00 and it came with a one year warranty as clearly stated in his contract. The heat pump unit was installed to supply not only cooling but primary heat to his residence with the oil fired furnace acting as the back up. When we got into the first heating season there were a couple of instances where the furnace was not coming on when needed and we responded to the calls quickly and professionally. Additionally [redacted] hired us to do plumbing work for two bathroom remodeling projects he was doing in his house as well, I gave him a price to complete the work for the first bathroom and everything went as planned. When it came to the second bath he said it was a similar project to the first and should cost about the same. When we went to do the project we opened the floor and found a carrying beam obstructing the path for the drain piping and [redacted] was aware of the situation and that this was more than what we had talked about. None the less the project was completed and we sent an invoice for our services , upon receiving the bill [redacted] called and was questioning why we were billing him for the extra work and I explained to him that we encountered things that were unforeseen and not part of what we had originally discussed. He asked why we didn't give him an estimate for the additional work and I replied "you were there and saw what had to be done" , he replied "I'm only paying what you quoted. I said "so because I didn't give you a cost for the additional work that you were aware of, you're not going to pay for it, he said yes. At that point he wouldn't even discuss it with me so I said "go ahead and pay what you claim I quoted but in the future find someone else to do your work, he said OK. A short while later he had a heating problem and called for service to which we reminded him we would no longer be able to provide him with our services. Our one year warranty covering the heat pump installation was up August of 2013.

Contacted Ralph Mann about hooking up to a gas meter to finish my whole house gas conversion. Said they would do the job by time and materials. They had plenty of time, two weeks to come out an figure out the materials they need and pull a permit. They show up the day of the meter hookup not having the tools, materials or the permit to do the job. The plumber figures out what he needs and heads to another job site to use their tools and materials. So we are billed this traveling time, comes backs and needs more parts an heads back to their shop, more traveling time $125 hr that we are billed. Couldn't have the job inspected because permit wasn't pulled so now we are put off for another week for the meter. They come back to make the connection and convert two appliances now with two guys. One tech converts the appliances that takes 1/2 hour then runs to a store to get a 1/2 elbow that they should of had so now we are billed another hour for travel, 130 hr for this guy. Get their invoice and they have a mystery hour that nobody in their not so helpful office can account for. They ended up billing us for two hours of traveling and one mystery hour $375 total. Not worth trusting this company to work for you figuring out their hours.

Review: Paid [redacted] $14,000 to install new Hvac system in 11/2009.Dampers never worked properly.charged me to correct his work.latest one sent to c/a

New system [redacted] and sons installed never worked properly. Didn't know until summer when upstairs thermostat was calling for cool all night long and never got there.He sent me service call bills.I would call to complain that they were called because the system that they installed in the winter did not work in the summer. [redacted] would rip up the bills.Last bill for damper replacement was disputed by me because damper they installed never worked.[redacted] left me a message telling me not to worry about it. I threw it out and I just recieved a collection agency notice. I promptly paid it because I have a perfect credit rating.Desired Settlement: I have paid your collection agency bill for the dampers you installed that never worked.

I would like the $534.29 refunded to me.

Business

Response:

Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2013/06/11) */

Contact Name and Title: [redacted]

Contact Phone: [redacted]

Contact Email: [redacted]@ralphmannandsons.com

In the fall of 2009 we were asked by [redacted] to replace her aging furnace and air conditioning system with new energy efficient models. I had prepared an estimate for the project which included all of the related system components and [redacted] accepted. In November of 09 the system was installed and fine tuned to their house. The following May we were called to the house for insufficient air conditioning on the 2nd floor and that is when we discovered a problem. Originally the house was smaller and the heating and air conditioning ductwork was sized for the original house. The [redacted] at some point remodeled the house making it larger but no one took into account that the ductwork to the 2nd floor would now be too small. We made several attempts at our cost to improve the situation but no matter what we tried it fell short. I then told [redacted] that the only way she would ever get satisfactory cooling on the 2nd floor was if the duct from the basement to the attic was replaced with a larger one. We met and worked out a plan to resolve the problem and the cost involved. [redacted] never acted on my suggestion and therefore the problem remains. Our system and equipment have all functioned normally for the last four years and we have responded to every call without getting paid. As I look back through the service records for the past four years, everything has been related to the duct situation and I have 20 man hours of labor that I have given her as a courtesy. In January of this year a zone damper motor went bad and we had to replace it. We sent [redacted] an invoice for the part and labor as our warrantee policy is one year from date of installation. When contacted by my office regarding payment, [redacted] told my office staff that she would not be paying the bill and if we persisted that she was going to call the Revdex.com, Attorney General, newspapers etc. My office staff made me aware of the situation and I placed a call to [redacted] myself and got her voice mail. I left her the following message "[redacted] I understand you are upset with a recent bill we had sent to you, please call me at your earliest convenience to discuss". I never got a return call and after several attempts to collect any outstanding debts we send them to a collection agency which is what happened in this case. I am very willing to work out a reasonable compromise with [redacted] but I can't continue to work for free especially knowing there is a resolution to the problem, replace the duct. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance in this matter.

Very truly yours,

Business Response /* (4000, 15, 2013/07/16) */

The system we installed four years ago works fine and there is no history of damper problems. As I stated in my first response, all of the problems stem from the undersized duct work to the second floor and we did propose a solution but [redacted] has not agreed to accept it. Four years after the installation was done a zone damper motor failed, we replaced it and sent a bill for our services. We can only extend to our customers the warrantee as provided by the manufacturer which is one year. At this point to resolve the matter I would be willing to refund 50% of the service charges. I think that is a very fair offer.